Audio Excerpt

Welcome to the Golden Leaves sculpture, a tribute to Gordon Lightfoot, who was born and raised right here in Orillia. As you can see, the sculpture depicts a bearded Lightfoot in his 20s, sitting on the ground, playing an acoustic guitar.

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A wreath of leaves in the shape of a giant maple leaf artistically frames him. Some of the leaves depict scenes from songs on his 1975 album, Gord’s Gold.

Gordon Lightfoot achieved international success in folk, folk-rock, and country music. He is credited with helping to define the folk-pop sound of the 1960s and 1970s. He is often referred to as Canada's greatest songwriter, and is known internationally as a folk-rock legend.

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Lightfoot's songs, including "For Lovin' Me", "Early Morning Rain", "Steel Rail Blues", and "Ribbon of Darkness" brought him wide recognition in the 1960s.

Oh, I almost forgot, there's a couple more famous songs you can learn about by visiting the other leaf sculptures in the park. These sculptures were added later by the same artist, timothy schmalz, with more planned for Orillia in the future, as well as locations across North America.

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Here's a quote from Gordon himself on how he got his start in music.

"I was raised singing in the choir and taking piano lessons. My parents were good that way and encouraged me. I became a soloist and decided very early on, that I wanted to be a performer. By the time I was perhaps eight or 10 years of age here in Orillia, I'd already made that decision within myself. I could feel it, and sort of got hooked on that. I said to myself, 'I wonder, is it really possible to succeed as a vocalist or a singer?

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Well Gord, I think it's safe to say, yes, yes it's possible. Thank you for believing in yourself, and giving us all the gift of your music to enjoy!